Pasch has worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist, Assistant Professor at the Columbia College of Nursing, and a Community Health Nurse.

She is a member of a number of organizations, including the American Public Health Association, Southeastern Wisconsin American Red Cross, American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, and the Wisconsin Nurses Association.[1]

Committee assignments

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Pasch has been appointed to these committees:

Pasch said the voters will have a clear choice in the election, stating, "We'll have a very clear difference on what we stand for. Sandy stood very much with Governor (Jim) Doyle on all of his tax increases and the spending that created the $3.6 billion deficit. That will be contrasted with my record of working to get our spending under control so we can grow jobs and the economy."[3]

Gladys Huber, a longtime Republican supporter, ran as a "protest" Democrat in the race, leading to a primary against Pasch. Pasch said, "It's a little appalling to me that they are running a fake Democrat."[4]

Nicholas Brehm had filed to run as a "placeholder" Democrat. Following the news that all six "fake" Democrats had turned in their final paperwork to get on the ballot to the GAB, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin announced that it would not be running their placeholder candidates in the recalls as they are no longer necessary. Party Chair Mike Tate explained, "The goal of the placeholder candidacies was to create an insurance policy against further Republican attempts to exploit the recall election schedule through dirty tricks and cynical plots."[5]

All three had filed nomination papers with a sufficient number of verified signatures.

July 12 Democratic Primary

Nicholas BrehmNote:Brehm filed nomination papers with sufficient signatures but did not file final papers to be on the ballot.

Campaigning

Following the passage of the new state budget, Alberta Darling spent June 18 talking to constituents, while Pasch was going door-to-door asking for support and reminding voters that there will be two elections.[7]Gladys Huber, the “protest candidate,” has a Darling sign in her front yard and was not out campaigning.[8]

The campaign between Darling and Pasch heated up in mid-June when Pasch issued a press release stating that Darling voted to increase spending by over $1 billion in the new state budget. Pasch stated, "This budget makes a mockery of Senator Darling's claims of fiscal responsibility. Voters in our district would be stunned to learn that all the while Senator Darling is talking about getting the budget under control, she actually voted to add more than $1 billion in additional spending.”[9]

PolitiFact gave Pasch’s claim a “Mostly True” rating, noting that the figure was accurate, but that there were other ways to look at the numbers.[10]

Debates

Following her victory in the July 12 Democratic primary, Pasch issued a press release saying "the Darling campaign has finally admitted to avoiding debates" with her after Darling turned down requests from Disability Rights Wisconsin and Advocates for Education.

Pasch stated, "We are still waiting on Darling to confirm a date for additional reputable hosts, but have been given no sign of good intent. It is time for my opponent to emerge from the shadows and join me in a debate on the issues.[11]

Pasch announced on July 20 that she accepted debate invitations from six organization, but Darling had only accepted one, which is not a true debate. Calling out her opponent, Pasch said, "it appears Senator Darling is doing everything she can to avoid talking about her support for historic cuts to education and women's healthcare to pay for tax breaks for big corporations and special interests.”[12]

The “debate” agreed to by Darling is being put on by the Milwaukee Press Club and will take place on two separate days, with Pasch answering questions from journalists and the audience on August 1, and Darling facing the same panel August 2. A statement from the Press Club explained the format, saying they “attempted to present a debate between the two candidates at one setting. Pasch accepted the debate proposal. Darling declined. Thus, the candidates will be presented as Newsmakers on consecutive days.”[13]

On July 24, Darling and Pasch met face-to-face for the first time on the TV show “UpFront with Mike Gousha.”[14] By all accounts the debate was a contentious one, with Darling refusing to acknowledge Pasch and both candidates continually interrupting one another.[15]

The debate touched on collective bargaining, jobs, education, redistricting, and bipartisanship. Darling defended her record and Gov.Scott Walker’s budget plan, saying Republicans followed the will of the voters and simply did what they said they would do - “We didn’t raise taxes. We did the hard job, we made cuts. It was difficult but we held up our part." Pasch responded that Republicans “have stopped listening to half of the people in the state of Wisconsin.”[15] One issue they did agree on was the need for bipartisanship, but neither offered concrete ideas for achieving it.[16]

While neither candidate readily claimed victory in the debate, the state Democratic Party issued a press release attacking Darling for calling herself “pro-education” during the show. Party Chairman Mike Tate stated, "In Sen. Darling's world, up is down, left is right, black is white, and slashing education to the bone makes you a pro-education candidate."[17]

Pasch is a member of the board of directors of Citizen Action, while her campaign treasurer Jackie Boynton also serves as treasurer for the organization.[19]

In a press release, Stephan Thompson, Executive Director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said, "In recent weeks, Citizen Action has taken an unusual interest in attacking Alberta Darling, with nearly identical messaging as the Pasch campaign. We feel that it is only prudent to ensure that these circumstances are uncanny coincidences, not the result of illegal activity on the part of the Pasch campaign."[20]

Andrew Davis, campaign manager for Alberta Darling stated, "As we have seen throughout the campaign from Sandy Pasch, she has little regard for right and wrong. Coordinating with third party groups is a very serious matter and the Darling campaign hopes that the Government Accountability Board looks into this immediately."[21]

Pasch campaign spokeswoman Gillian Morris said there was no coordination, calling the complaint "a laughable attempt to attack her because they're running scared and they're seeing the writing on the wall." Robert Kraig, executive director for Citizen Action said the actions were completely unfounded.[22]

Campaign

Affordable Healthcare- "Healthcare costs, quality, and availability must be addressed so that we can maintain healthy communities whose residents are vibrant contributors to society."

Quality Education - "I believe that education is the key to a thriving community. Well-educated children grow up to be responsible adults and community leaders."

Fiscal Responsibility - "Like you, my husband and I are taxpayers and want to see our tax dollars used prudently and for the common good."

Environmental Stewardship - "We are fortunate to have Lake Michigan, one of the world’s greatest resources, at our doorstep. Protecting this resource and others like it is of paramount importance to our quality of life, as well as to the quality of life we will leave to our children and grandchildren."

2008

On November 4, 2008, Pasch won re-election to Assembly District 22, receiving 67.06% of the vote.[27]

Wisconsin Assembly District 22

Candidates

Votes

Sandy Pasch (D)

21,938

Yash Wadhwa (R)

10,720

Scattering

58

Sponsored legislation

An introduction to Rep. Pasch

Legislation sponsored in 2009 includes:

AB-57 Mother may breast-feed her child in any public or private location where she is authorized to be; penalty provision

AB-341 Cellular telephone or other wireless telecommunications device: person under age 18 operating a motor vehicle with an instruction permit or probationary license prohibited from using; forfeiture provision

For a full listing of sponsored legislation and details see the House site.

Campaign donors

2010

According to records available as of May 18, 2011, Pasch raised $41,573 during 2010. Listed below are the top five contributors.[28]

Donor

Amount

Federation of Teachers Local 212

$1,000

George L. Morris

$550

Lucille B. Rosenberg

$550

Erich L. Schwenker

$550

Julia A. Uihlein

$500

2008

The top 5 donors to Pasch's 2008 campaign were mostly individuals:[29]